In a press release issued on January 31, 2026, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) reiterated their endorsement of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s September 2024 statement that the ghee used by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for making Laddus contained animal fat.
The party emphasized that the CM’s assertion was not merely a political comment but rather based on the July 2024 test report of the National Dairy Development Board’s Centre of Analysis & Learning in Livestock and Food (NDDB CALF). This laboratory, it pointed out, is a statutory institution accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories under ISO/IEC 17025, India’s gold standard for forensic and food testing credibility.
Interestingly, TTD chairman B.R. Naidu also highlighted the same NDDB CALF test report in his press meet on January 30, 2026. The report confirmed the presence of animal fat and vegetable oil in the ghee supplied to TTD for the aforementioned purpose, a fact that has been explicitly cited in the CBI’s supplementary charge sheet.
The TDP release further alleged that the CBI’s investigation detailed systemic corruption, manipulation of procurement processes, and deliberate compromise of quality controls within the TTD. According to the party, these malpractices reveal how sacred offerings have been reduced to commodities for profiteering.
“Adulteration of the Laddus is not an accident or administrative lapse but the outcome of institutionalized negligence and patronage of the corrupt,” the TDP concluded. The allegations made by the TDP are significant given their implications for the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, a prominent Hindu temple complex located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
